Babatunde, A.O.A.O.BabatundeKumar, J.L.G.J.L.G.KumarZhao, Y.Q.Y.Q.Zhao2011-08-262011-08-26Royal Soci2011-06Journal of Environmental Monitoring1464-0325http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3108This study investigated an important issue of aluminium (Al) release in a novel reuse of Al-based water treatment sludge (Al-WTS) in constructed wetland system (CWs) as alternative substrate for wastewater treatment. Al-WTS is an inevitable by-product of drinking water treatment plants that use Al-salt as coagulant for raw water purification. It has recently been demonstrated that Al-WTS can be reused as a low-cost phosphorus (P) adsorbent and biofilm carrier in CWs for wastewater treatment. However, to facilitate the large scale application of Al-WTS in CWs as wetland substrate, concerns about Al leaching during its’ reuse in CWs must be addressed as Al is a dominant constituent in Al-WTS. In this study, a desk review of literature on Al release during Al-WTS reuse was conducted. Furthermore, a 42-week Al monitoring was carried out on a pilot field-scale CWs employing Al-WTS as main substrate. Results show that 22 out of the 35 studies reviewed, reported Al release with levels of soluble Al reported ranging from 0.01 to about 20 mg L-1. Monitoring of Al in the pilot field-scale CWs shows that there was Al leaching. However, except for the first three weeks of operation, effluents concentrations of both total- and soluble-Al were all below the general regulatory guideline limit of 0.2 mg L-1. Overall, the study addresses a very vital concern regarding the successful application of Al-WTS in CWs and shows that Al release during such novel reuse is quite low and should not preclude its use.327145 bytesapplication/pdfenAluminiumAlum sludgeConstructed wetlandsLeachingWater treatment sludgeWastewater treatmentAluminumWater treatment plant residualsConstructed wetlandsLeachingWater--PurificationJournal Article1361775178310.1039/C1EM00001Bhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/